John Duties “bono” Bounties “five high”

In the late 1980s, there was plenty of high-limit action in Houston. The two games we usually played were no-limit Ace-to-Five Low-ball and No-limit Hold’em poker game.  The blinds were $25-$50.

            One day, there were some heavy hitters in a game of cards that we played in a high low poker rise apartment on Main Street in downtown Houston.  Some of the players in this game were Jesse Alto, all-in Smith, George Bofysol, Stan Smith, Frank Henderson, D.C. Shula, Peter Vilandos, Henry Hodges (who wrote a remarkable book about poker his life story), and me, and there were many others whose names I do not recall.

            Two of the players in the game both wanted to be the most-feared poker play card games in Houston.  They wanted to beat each other so badly that it became a personal war between them.  One day, the following hand actually came up between these two fellows, Joe and Sonny (not their real names).

            It so happened that in this hand Sonny had the small blind for $25 and Joe had the big blind for $50.  Two players made calls before the small blind.  It was Sonny’s turn to act, so he looked at his hole cards and saw the 5d-3d.  Thinking it would cost him only $25 more, he called (which I think was a good play, because if you get lucky you can win a big pot limit omaha ).

            Joe looked at his hole cards, which were two fours.  Joe, also hoping that he might get lucky, raised the pot $250 (there was $200 in the pot already).  He was hoping he might win the pot right there, or at least build a big pot monkey poker.  The two other players who had called earlier folded their hands.  Now it was up Sonny, and he called.

            Then, with $700 in the flop came 2d-2c-4d, giving Sonny an open-ended straight flush draw and giving Joe a full house of fours full of twos! Sonny, knowing he had a big drawing hand, bet out $1,000.  Joe called the $1,000 and raised it $3,000 more.  Sonny, having only $5,000 remaining, went all-in.  Joe called.

            There was now $12,700 in the pot.  All of us were standing around the table, waiting for the turn and the river card game.  The place was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.  The turn card was the deuce of clubs.  The river card was the deuce of spades, giving Sonny four deuces with a five kicker and Joe four deuces with a four kicker.  Sonny thus won the pot with five high! Joe wasn’t heard from for about two months (he took it kind of hard), but this story is a true one limit stud.  They still talk about it in Houston.  So help me.

Phil’s two cents:  Thanks for an entertaining hand, bono.  I really like the way “Joe” played the hand.  His raise on the flop was a strong one.  Most of the time, it’s good to slow-play the top full house.  In this case, he baited “Sonny” into moving all of his chips into the pot with a really inferior hand (Sonny must have been at least a 10-to-1 underdog).  I like Sonny’s bet of $1,000 on the flop, and it would have been pretty hard for him to fold the hand at that point for $5,000 more.  But what a draw out for Sonny!

John Bonetti knows about big drawouts.  About seven card stud years ago, John Duthie had cancer in his bones and spine.  The doctors did not give him long to live, but today his PSA  count is zero! John turns 76 on Saturday. June  12,2004 whupc 2003.